Hartlepool's Share of Household Support Fund Slashed – But Help Will Continue in 2025/26
- teessidetoday
- May 7
- 3 min read
Updated: May 8
Its anticipated that over 14,000 awards to struggling households will made from the new Household Support Fund, but Hartlepool Borough Council sees the amount of funding slashed from last year....
7th May 2025
Hartlepool Borough Council has confirmed how it plans to spend the latest round of government money from the Household Support Fund (HSF), a scheme aimed at helping residents through the cost-of-living crisis. However, its been reported that a cut in funding of more than 12% is raising concerns about just how far the support will stretch.
The government’s Household Support Fund was first introduced in 2021 under the Conservative Government to assist struggling households with essentials such as food, energy, and housing costs. Each year since, the scheme has been tweaked to reflect government priorities, with a shift from helping children initially to now targeting a broader range of low-income groups, including pensioners, unpaid carers, and disabled people.
Its claimed for the upcoming 2025/26 phase – Hartlepool Borough Council has been awarded £1,750,170.48. That’s reported to be a drop of over £235,000 compared to last year. With rising costs and soaring poverty levels in Hartlepool, the reduction is said to limit the reach of support being given to some households– a point that wasn't shied away from in the council's own officer report.
Hartlepool Poverty in Numbers
The council report also outlined the following data as part of its report outlining that 39% of children in Hartlepool are now living in poverty – that’s around 5,600 youngsters entitled to free school meals due to financial hardship. When including those aged 2 through 19 in education or training, the number balloons to 8,000 children and young people. Its claimed 13,500 households now currently recieve Local Council Tax Support (LCTS), an indicator of low income, with 11,000 households said to be claiming Universal Credit – many of them working families still unable to make ends meet...
Where the Money Will Go
Despite the funding cut, its claimed Hartlepool Borough Council has devised a spending plan designed to maintain essential crisis and preventative support. Here’s how the £1.75 million will be allocated:
£742,700 will fund £100 food vouchers for every financially eligible child aged 2–19.
£440,800 is allocated to help low-income pensioners via food vouchers or payments.
£226,000 will support a general application fund for residents just above the Free School Meals threshold – often working families still struggling.
£20,661.96 is set aside for emergency housing cost support, managed by the Housing Advice Team.
Local charities and advice services will also receive funding:
Hartlepool Foodbank – £40,000 for food parcels.
Citizen’s Advice Bureau – £90,000 for fuel top-ups and energy essentials.
Advice @ Hart – £90,000 for similar support.
West View Advice and Resource Centre – £10,000 for household essentials.
£500 to fund an updated ‘Hartlepool Food Offer’ leaflet giving residents information on where to access help.
One notable feature of the scheme is its mix of delivery methods. Support will be both proactive – where the council identifies households in need – and reactive, allowing residents to apply directly. Third-party organisations, particularly advice services and food providers, will once again play a crucial role in delivery of the Household Support Fund rather than it being delivered by Hartlepool Borough Council only.
Is It Enough?
Whilst Hartlepool Borough Council is said to be 'doing what it can with the hand it's been dealt', the reduced funding puts extra strain on already-stretched local services, with officers admitting that managing such a large fund takes a toll on both council staff and community partners – some of whom are volunteering their time or relying on limited charitable income.
Critically, the new funding is unlikely to meet the growing demand. As poverty deepens, the support being offered – £100 food vouchers, help with energy bills, and small one-off grants – can feel like a sticking plaster on a much larger wound, with critics claiming the money could have been better spent plugging the defict in the councils failed Local Council Tax Support System, which has been heavily criticised as being the primary factor as to Hartlepool's obscene levels of poverty being recorded due to it failing to take vulnerable households out of Council Tax liability altogether.
And whilst the scheme offers much-needed short-term relief, it does little to address the underlying structural problems driving poverty in Hartlepool – low wages, high housing costs, and a benefits system that often fails the working poor.
